this brush?
by Karin Serendipity
Summary: Two years in the future: Cilan searches for a way to busy himself after the destruction of Striaton City. PokeStudios just seems the place. Wishfulshipping.


**Author's Note: I just got White 2 and OOPS I am in love with the PokeStudios and keep making movies. On another note, I did take a Greek myth and manipulate the names and the genders for this. This was kind of a new style to work with, plus my first time working with Cilan's PoV. Then there is also the worry that this totally crashed and burnt because wow this is different... I hope you guys like it!**

"Cilan, you gotta stop playing dress up. That's such a _little kid _thing." She would say, with a smile playing on her lips, because she was only trying to poke fun at Ash, whose face was red with exhaust from trying to argue that he wasn't a little kid. He never could win in these arguments against her. Then she would turn back, "Cilan, will you hand me that brush?"

/

Chili says to get out of the house, but there isn't a house anymore. _No home, _I should say. A house doesn't have to be a home and this definitely isn't one. Chili and Cress agree, quietly, and find ways to keep themselves busy. They avoid my moping moods where I shell myself up in the library and stay there for hours; there is almost no differences except I've lost - no, we've lost, our home and there is no more traveling.

I saw Iris yesterday; she's beautiful. She was on television and she almost looked real, except as the days pass, I think she is less real and more of an illusion created by my mind. Instead, she's just disappearing.

Ash called this morning; he's in Kanto and was looking for a way to call Iris. I lied, told him she didn't have a number; I didn't want to admit that she hadn't given it to me.

"You never asked."

"You never answered."

/

Cress says to leave for a bit too. "Go to the PokeStudios, have fun: please," he adds as an afterthought, desperately pleading with me or some deity that I find something to do. I should listen, want to listen, but I'm back in the library. The smell of old dust stirs, rises, and sometimes falls, like untold stories, hidden desires, fears; all familiar and yet so unfamiliar.

I wanted to hold her: stupid her with that reckless abandon that made her momentarily forget herself. She's protected us time and time again, but this was icing on the wonderfully delicious cake. It was an enraged Charizard; he was thrashing and we'd stumbled too close. If we'd watched out, or been less curious then she wouldn't have any scars. They covered her arms, perhaps more, but it had evaded her face, scorched her hair: it climbed up her body like it was all-consuming and she was its prey, incapable and flickering like a flame that wouldn't go out. She had been stupid, jumping in front of me and getting caught in the fire spin. I'll never forget her screams.

Ash asked me how I was dealing with things and I told him as well as I could manage. At least that wasn't a lie.

"I miss you guys."

"Me too."

/

After my eyes start aching from the strain of reading for long, obscene hours, I leave. It is a lie when I tell them I'm going to see a movie, but that is where I end up. Some famous director is there and searching for someone to fill in a spot for his movie. He says it is an old myth that he had unearthed and wanted to bring it to the public's attention. More than anything, he needs to find someone to play the lead male: I'm perfect enough. He asks me, which I'm tempted to decline, but I'm this far from my house, so why not busy myself? I readjust my backpack, yawn, stretch, and he tells me to look into getting a room at the Virbank PokeCenter. He hands me a script, tells me to look over at least the first four scenes, that I should wake up at about six in the morning.

My feet ache from the journey, but I'm not complaining in the slightest and instead take all this in stride before following his advice and working out a deal with Nurse Joy so I can stay there for awhile. Then I get my Xtransceiver out to call Chili and Cress; they answer no sooner than I dial. "I'm staying here awhile, guys. I was offered a part in a movie."

"Good for you!" Cress and Chili both smile, this pleases them. I'm not holing myself up any longer.

As a movie connoisseur, I settle myself onto the bed and look over the script until my vision blurs from all the black type on white paper and the clock is creeping closer and closer to midnight. The bed is warm, very nice and familiar in the scope of things. Even if it had been two years since last I'd spent time in a PokeCenter, it was still something I remembered. When I closed my eyes, I thought about my journey, then I thought about her. I want to sleep, but this is what normally happens; I think about the times when I still had a home, or when I woke up to prepare breakfast for two hungry, expectant friends. Now Cress is normally the one up the earliest and Chili makes coffee before I even muss my hair. When I can't sleep, I normally read, or cook, but there's other people staying the night and I can't start cooking, plus there aren't any books around this room. I didn't bring any either. I feel drained, so I crawl back into bed after padding around silently around the room a couple times, wringing my hands and trying to find something to do. It takes another hour to fall asleep.

So when I wake up, I'm still feeling drained, but it is 5:32 and I still have time to fix a cup of coffee at least, but breakfast is important, so I grab a berry that she would love and brings more memories of her Emolga running back to me; I miss feeding the Pokemon, so that is what causes me to release Simisage from his Pokeball. Nurse Joy smiles at us, we wave, then I'm on my way.

Simisage slows me down, but we still make it there in time. Before time actually, which looks good for us. The director isn't there yet, but there are others who are bustling around the areas, trying to finish scenery and there are actresses and actors in full costume, some running around while grumbling about not being able to locate this or that part of their costume. Simisage watches all of this in awe with me until someone as I recognize as watching over who goes in and out of the dressing rooms asks me to return him to a Pokeball if I could please. I can, so I do, and then he tells me to stop gawking. I slip myself into the dressing room deciding that perhaps I can find my own costume.

The dressing room is just a long room with mirrors and a counter for makeup and hair supplies, then there are the racks for hangers, but this room isn't even semi-private and I wonder if I should be slightly self-conscious, but I don't even give the room a once over as I shrug out of my jacket, fold it up, and lay it on the counter next to a bunch of hairspray and makeup. I look at the mirror, not quite seeing myself, but flashes of green or white. My eyes feel heavy and I pout as though that will fix my problem.

"Can you hand me that brush right next to you?"

It is her voice; I would recognize it anywhere, but I don't know why I'm not turning. She sounds so casual, like maybe she doesn't even remember me. Does she even? Am I important enough to remember for two years of absence? Then, "Please, Cilan? I don't mean to be a bother."

It is early in the morning, I remind myself before turning to look at her. I don't know what I expect, but it certainly isn't what I'm granted with. She's stunning, as ever, and looks stronger than I've ever seen her look. In the mirror, I can see her eyes and they are burning with a fervor that I noticed in Ash before, but never like this in Iris. But beneath that, she looks slightly anxious, or maybe not, maybe she's about to jump out of her skin; she's on edge. I don't notice when my brain starts to function again, but my motor functions return and I'm handing her a brush. She whispers her gratification, but there's more behind it than that.

/

"Thank you, so much, for everything." The words fell from my lips before I could stop them and the odd sensation, that prickling feeling, washed over me. She stood there for a moment, then she was reaching up, on her tiptoes, I remember, and wrapping her arms around my neck. I had to stoop so she could do this properly; I remember wrapping my arms around her, straightening up, her giggling as her feet were lifted off the ground. I still wanted to cry.

Ash smiled at us, shook my hand, pulled me into a hug. Then he did similar to Iris, but he didn't look like he was about to cry. He looked prepared to take on the world and it was just so infectious, his happiness, so I sniffed and returned his smile. It was a day for new beginnings, he had said. Then he had left for Kanto, leaving Iris and I alone for just moments, but it was long enough. She sniffed, then started crying: _weeping_. Her small frame shook with the effort she was taking on keeping herself quiet. The sensation returned and hit me in relentless waves, but I refused to show weakness when Iris might need me to stay okay. That would have certainly been distasteful. "Thank you," she whispered, wiping her eyes and looking towards the ground.

When the tears were all dry, she smiled at me, then giggled. It was just another thing about her that I found captivating; this _was _sad, but she thought that she was just being a little kid about things. Instead, she was being older than she should have been acting. It was awkward after that, because we had to go separate ways. She didn't want to leave and as she rambled, I got the feeling that she was prolonging the inevitable. Just minutes after she had thanked me, she had turned. I had turned. We never looked back.

/

There's always been something more behind the thank you passed between us; sometimes it was unspoken gratitude that clung to the air around us. Sometimes it was the spoken kind, and both of us could smile and relish in the moment that we were appreciative of one another. "Are you looking to be an actor, Cilan?"

My name feels awkward, heavy, and foreign in her mouth; she can tell, that is why she is tacking it onto every sentence or question. I have yet to realize that along with my motor functions, I most likely have the power to speech bestowed back upon me. Then the words rush out too quickly, "Yes'm gonna act." That causes her to flinch: has my dialect returned to something so distasteful? There is a bitter aftertaste on my tongue. I force myself to take a deep breath, then another and she waits there patiently, pulling a brush through her hair. "Yes. I was asked by the wonderful director if I would deign to be in this most delectable movie."

She releases a breath, everything is fine now, I'm almost no different. "Kay, so it's a love story, you know?" Iris puts the brush down and twirls around once in the mirror before turning to me, leaning against the counter. "Grimsley told me that I should take a break every once and awhile and PokeStudios has been begging me to do a movie for them." She shrugs lightly; it is a delicate movement. Everything about her seems either planned or cautious; I blame the fact that she is watched daily by thousands of people, but maybe she's just nervous about the shoot.

I know she's not nervous about the shoot. It is just a speculation that could've been plausible if Iris wasn't Iris, but she hasn't changed in most ways. In a way, it is reassuring to have her here, but in another way, I feel my heart racing in my chest and I wish someone else was in here with me, or no one perhaps. "Do you know, perhaps, where I could find my costume?" I ask her instead of continuing the conversation. I feel slightly odd talking about Grimsley and how PokeStudios have been trying to contact her to be in a movie. It has a slightly sour taste to it because it reminds me that it has been nearly two years since I've seen her and she's already this powerful and popular.

She inclines her head towards the rack, "Depends on your part, but most of them have a tag that tells which one is which. Basic dressing room thing. I thought you were a movie connoisseur." Then she blinks, realizing that what she has just said might be slightly rude. "What part do you have anyways?" Switching subjects, she blushes and looks down at the counter.

A smile flits across my face, "Galate." I take some pride in the role I have received and she physically reacts to this newfound discovery as she leans forward, knocking over a container of blush. Squeaking indignantly, she rushes away from the powder and closer to me.

"Kay, well, I'm Pygamlia," which throws me off for a moment, but then _the script _comes back into my memory and I realize that I should have guessed that was the part she was given in the first place. She is definitely desired among the hearts of various men all over Unova and perhaps fanning outwards, but I'm not sure. Ash heard that she become champion, so who knows who else over in Kanto has heard of her. Now she is smiling, crossing over to retrieve my costume for me, then passing it to me before making way to the door. "I'll tell 'im you are almost ready. 'Member to powder your nose or you'll look all shiny." The clip in her speech confuses me until I look up from examining my clothes and notice that she is yawning. It is almost too adorable of a sight to see this early, but I think my heart can manage it if it has managed meeting up with her again. I nod, watch her leave, then quickly dress in my costume.

It consists of a robe that isn't all that subtle, but the point is that I'm a beautiful sculpture from the times before proper pants and shirts. I quickly check to make sure there won't be any mishaps in my garment before making my way out to wherever the first scene is going to be shot. Iris is out there, I didn't notice it, but she's in a robe too, but hers are more expensive and detailed. They make her seem like she is an ancient princess; all the crew, the director and the cameraman are talking to her animatedly and there are a few others milling around the set. The director sees me, waves me over excitedly.

"Perfect for the part. Look at that complexion," the cameraman says, grinning and looking at the director, clearly proud of his rash decision.

The director is grinning as well, patting my shoulder and nodding. "Ready to kiss this handsome lad, Iris?"

My heart stops, I think, but if it stops then surely I can't think anymore. Maybe I'm not thinking anymore, and maybe I've just died, but I'm not swaying, luckily, or I haven't crumpled to the ground yet, so I'm thinking I'm handling this well. She answers him, which I have to struggle to hear because suddenly white noise is attacking my eardrums. "Sure am," she's smiling too and I don't know if she is just being agreeable or if this is something that has even the slightest bit of meaning to her. This means the world to me and I have waited so long to feel her lips on mine, but the situation seems a bit forced. _She can say no_, my mind reminds me. I want to kiss her.

Now she's telling the director about how two years previous, we had been traveling together: "This is one of the former gym leaders of Striaton City." _Former. _That always stings anymore; being a gym leader was one of the most exciting parts of my life. People would learn things about working together with their Pokemon. The way she says former though makes it seem like I'm still important in the big picture, the director seems impressed with himself and his casting. He instructs us where to stand and says "Action!"

/

"'O lovely Luvdisc, born of the Sea and forever beautiful... I beseech you to listen to my prayers!" Her hands are clasped together in a pious position and held up to the Sky as though it will carry her voice along the winds and towards the Sea where finally Luvdisc will hear her prayers: ardent and desperate. "Make this sculpture of beauty so divine come to life so that I may live together in peace with him. Never before had I laid my eyes upon someone so beautiful; my breath is caught in my throat from desire and need. Luvdisc, please, I only pray of you to grant this simple deed for me so that I may properly be able to love him, for I will marry him and live alongside him forevermore: our love eternal."

My job is to stay perfectly still with my eyes closed, but I know hers are too. She is trying to win over the favor of this great power, while I am but made from stone in before her. She retires to her bedchamber after this monologue and slowly colour floods into my cheeks until the morning light is streaming in through the window and the wind blows, rustles my robes. They show her awakening, stretching languidly, then walking down the stairs like a man that holds three jobs and sleeps only for a few hours a night, or whenever possible. When she's made her way down the stairs, she stops and watches me with captivation as I slowly open my eyes, close them, and then flutter them as if I've only learned what the concept of blinking is and am enthralled by it.

Iris, no, Pygmalia walks up to me cautiously, places her hand on my arm, then pulls herself up so she is standing on the same platform as me. I should stumble, but previously I was just stone and I still feel that strength, so I stay there posed until she's wrapping her arms around my neck. Then I'm wrapping my arms around her waist and waiting for the moment she leans up to kiss me. It isn't anything special; all it is is an exchange on a movie set. I have to keep telling myself that. There are more lines passed between us. The story unfolds and spirals until we are aged, married: _happy. _

The word sits well with me. It is like a dream that is currently unrecognized, but one day I might be able to hold it. Even while the camera still rolls, I think about how happy I could be if she would just smile at me again.

/

"Kiss me again," she says, eyes wide and innocent. "For real this time, not acting." She's so serious about it and I see from her hands, they are shaking, that she's nervous. Scared I'll say no? I don't think I could say no to her, so I'm stooping down to place a kiss on her cheek, then swiftly moving over to her lips. My arm curls around her waist and pulls her close. My other hand rests on her cheek and I pull away gently. "I've wanted to do that for such a long time, Cilan." She admits and her pupils are blown huge in happiness as I notice she's struggling to keep her face from splitting into a huge grin.

"I, too, have waited _quite _awhile to do that." I wonder if I should tell her she tastes like a custap berry: sweet enough to have me craving more. I wonder briefly if I should want to kiss her again, but before I know it, she's throwing herself into my arms and snuggling close to me. We stay like this until she pulls me along into the back of the dressing room where there is a little couch and she continues to tug on me until I'm seated next to her.

"How're you? How's Pansage?" is how she decides to start out our conversation. Her eyes are still excited and the fire is burning stronger than before and somehow I think I could be slightly at fault for that. Something rises in my chest as I reach for my Pokeball, causing me to shift and my knees to knock against hers. Neither one of us moves, but she watches with interest as I show her Simisage, who recognizes the wild-haired girl and smiles at her before she's reaching for her own and releasing a Fraxure. "It's been awhile, I suppose, but Axew really wasn't an easy evolution and Fraxure seems happy as Fraxure. Simisage looks awesome."

I nod, smile, reach out and pet Fraxure's head. "Delightful!," I tell her, and what was once the tiny Axew that hid in her hair. Simisage turns to Fraxure and they start their own conversation; I turn back to Iris just as she's reaching for something. She notices I've turned and blushes, her hand froze in its journey, but this doesn't dishearten her, a second later she is weaving her fingers in between mine.

There are definitely ways to speculate her actions, but I don't want to play detective. For once, I just want to roll with the punches and accept any surprises. "It has been awhile, hasn't it? I got so busy that I stopped trying to contact everyone. Drayden made a trip up to the League to see how I was doing because I never pick up my Xtransceiver. It gets lonely too, sometimes, but honestly, 've got it easy. Where're you living now?"

"Currently Castelia City, but Chili talks about wanting to see if there are any nicer places in Opelucid," I answer her. This sparks conversation about all the kinds of people she's fought from all over the place and after awhile, she leans in and pecks my lips before dissolving into giggles when my face flushes. This is the effect she has over me and I can not seem to learn to control it, but it makes her happy. There's that word again.

/

"I'll see you again, won't I?" I have to ask it, because if I don't then perhaps she will think this is all temporary, but she scrunches up her nose and pushes me lightly, playfully.

Then she smiles, "Every day. I want to see you every single day, Cilan."


End file.
